Blaze of the Heart
by Alex McM
Summary: Shana and Yuji fought for love, only for it to end in tragedy. But hope is not lost! Somewhere Yuji's torch still burns. Shana will do anything to bring him back, even if it means waging war against the guardians of the afterlife - the Gotei 13 - alone.
1. Dying Ember

..._**Dying Ember...**_

The sky was ablaze. Black clouds of smoke filled the sky, parted only by the thunderous gale emanating from the unholy steel monolith reaching far to the heavens. Above the imposing structure arcs of blue light slithered across the immense serpent coiled amongst the clouds, protecting the world egg, the treasure of the demons of the Crimson Realm. Soon the egg would become the gateway to a new world, a world where the Denizens would be free; however the dreams of these beastly creatures could not proceed. The balance of worlds hung in the balance. The new world would only bring suffering.

It had to be stopped!

The ritual was too far under way. The battle could not go on.

The flame haze had fought bravely and died with honour. The casualties would not be forgotten and with renewed vigour the remaining warriors struggled on. Armies of loyal soldiers had crumbled in the face of the monstrous enemies which, like inhuman floods raced down the wide valleys to meet the foe. Steel, tooth and claw met in a bloody conflict. The dead were left to rot and the living were herded into tight clusters to hack away like crazed animals.

Blood. Fire. Death.

And as the war escalated below another battle raged above. Standing tall atop the altar the figures shined like beacons for the forces below. The tides of victory rested on their shoulders.

The Flame-haired, Burning-eyed Hunter grasped her katana, Nietono-no-Shana tight between her small hands. Her gaze was settled upon her opponent, the one person in this world and the next that she had never wanted to fight...

Sakai Yuji.

Corrupted by the God of Creation – or so she had hoped – Yuji had become the unlikely commander for the vile Denizens of the Crimson Realm. He fought to make their dreams a reality, regardless of the consequence, fighting with the same vigour he had shown when he was once by Shana's side. It made little sense to her. Why would he betray her like this? Why did he not listen? What was he trying to gain?

The two stood off against one another, the harsh winds whipping across their faces, yet neither one seemed to notice. They were staring at each other with rage burning fiercer than the sun. One fought for Reality, another for dreams and yet they each fought for the sake of the one they loved. So how then were they crossing swords?

Yuji grasped Blutsauger with both hands and charged. Shana rushed to meet him and as their weapons collided sparks rained down upon them. Shana grit her teeth and forced Yuji back, rushing into a furious counter-attack. The anger and pain she had felt by Yuji's betrayal only fuelled her strength and convinced her that defeat was not an option. And so she swung her sword in a wide arc, unleashing a ball of fire which shot off from the edge of her blade to crash into her foe.

Yuji stood motionless as the ring about his neck, Azure, surrounded him in protective light. He chuckled softly to himself and hacked away at the wall of flames until it had parted. When Shana was once again in his sight he lunged forward, bringing his sword crashing down upon the small girl. Shana resisted however the weight of the great sword was wearing her down. She dropped to one knee and wrenched her weapon to one side, casting Blutsauger aside. With an opening in clear sight Shana clenched a fist and buried it under Yuji's ribs sending him staggering backwards into one of the grand pillars surrounding them.

"Yuji! Why are you doing this?" She asked, desperation in her voice.

As he rose to his feet, dusting himself off, Yuji smiled and said, "Because I have to."

Shana cursed under her breath and moved in for another strike. As their swords crossed the two met each other's gaze. Yuji was still smiling as he spoke, "This world is one of cruelty. Tomogara devour humans, Flame Haze slaughter Tomogara and even lives that were once meaningful to us are cast aside and forgotten. You all fight and kill for your own needs, for balance, for survival, for your own good...But that cannot be. I'm going to create a world for Tomogara to live free from the persecution of the Flame Haze, a world where they can be free."

"Free to kill without restraint!" Shana snapped, "Think of the humans in your new world! They will suffer all for the sake of this dream! As a Flame Haze I cannot let you do this!"

Yuji finally snapped. He pushed Shana to the ground and roared with the might of thunder, "You will not get in my way!"

The flaming eyed hunter recoiled, terrified of this anger.

"I disagree with your position as a Flame Haze. I cannot be by your side as you are!"

Those words, like blades sank through Shana and crushed the raging spirit she had channelled before. She stared at her trembling hands and then to her own face, her tears reflected in the gleaming blade in Yuji's hands.

_Why...Why is this happening? _

Shana remembered all the times Yuji had stood by her, had fought alongside her. She remembered all the times he had been so kind to her, cared for her and protected her even without the power to do so. He had supported her all those times. He had fuelled her strength and saved her from her own doubts.

She loved him. She wished for nothing more than to forever be by his side. Had he not felt the same? Why now would he forsake her? None of this was adding up. None of it made sense to her. Only one thing was certain...

"Yuji...Is that the only thing stopping you...From being by my side?" She choked back tears and forced herself to rise. Her knees were trembling but she battled on and clenched her sword between her pale fingers. Her grip tightened until her knuckles were cracking from the strain. "You jerk..." Shana was quivering uncontrollably now, tears streaming from her eyes beyond her restraint. She channelled every tear, every shattered memory, every broken dream into the blade of Nietono no Shana and cried with all her might, "YOU JERK!"

The sky lit up and the troops down below came to a grinding halt, the fierce battled coming to a complete stand-still as all eyes were affixed on the burning tempest amid the heavens. The world became blanketed in an orange haze as flames devoured the sky, turning the tower into a monstrous candle.

The world egg shielded itself from the worst but even it could not withstand the blast entirely. Wisps of smoke encircled the burning ball of light and the snake encircling it hissed and spat at the opponent down below.

"YUJI!" Shana screamed to the point her voice cracked into a pitiful squeal. As she prepared another blast a great, overpowering darkness hit her. The black flames of the Snake of the Festival enveloped her and brought her to her knees, but even as searing pain dug deep within her she refused to give in. With a great battle cry her body became a blazing silhouette lost behind a sheet of burning desire which billowed out to consume the opposing darkness. As light and shadow fought for their dominion over the world Shana and Yuji once again crossed swords in a climactic explosion of light.

"Shana! Why do you stand in my way? I am doing this for the sake of your entire world! Can you not see my dreams laid out before you? Peace for all living things. No more battles, no more bloodshed, no more pain. This is not just the dream of the Tomogara. It is the dream of all living things! Your resistance is borne from misunderstanding. If only you could see the world through my eyes...Then maybe we could walk with each other once again..."

Nerves severed under the weight of his words and Shana let out a piercing cry of unrelenting fury. A violent dance of swords ensued, the thunderous sound of weapons and hearts colliding causing the very earth to tremble. Firelight danced amidst the eternal night and cast flickering shadows over the world. The war down below resumed in full force, shedding blood and tears all across Misaki city.

Pain, blood, anger, loss.

The same agony felt by both sides.

War, the only reality they knew, the only reason for their existence. War was their way of life, a never-ending battle for their own existence.

Shana and Yuji fought on trapped inside the cage of red, black, orange and grey. As the swirling masses of flame congealed into an oppressive, looming shadow the two star-crossed foes conversed with sharpened steel.

"I love you Yuji! Don't you love me as well?"

"Of course. I love you, Shana." He spoke with the same irritating air of calm as before, "Everything I have done has been for you Shana. My only wish is be with you."

This threw her off course. She faltered for just a moment but with her confidence shattered only anger and bitter resentment remained. Driven by passion Shana fought back. She summoned a great ball of fire and broke through Yuji's defences and knocked him back against a wall of stone. As she closed in on him she choked out with a mournful sense of longing in her voice, "Yuji...You can be with me right now..."

He frowned and shook his head, "No. I must atone for my sins. I have killed many in my quest. I have taken many lives for my own selfish desires. I killed flame haze and humans all for the sake of love. I have to serve my punishment for all I have done, only then can I earn the right to be by your side, without regret or guilt."

"But I will always love you! I don't care if you are selfish! I don't care if you've caused me pain...I would never refuse you...I love you Yuji!"

Yuji sighed. "You don't understand. I don't deserve-"

"Shut up, Shut up, Shut up!"

Yuji was struck by a great blast which sent him hurtling across the altar. He landed in a heap but quickly regained his composure and prepared himself.

"It's you who don't understand...You don't...You..." Shana struggled to find the words. They escaped her and left her tongue stumbling. "You don't understand...What about me?" She wiped tears from her eyes but in an instant another steady flow coursed down her pale face, "You're just going to leave me? I don't want to be without you!"

Yuji's eyes narrowed and his stance broke under the strain on his consciousness.

"Shana..."

"Your new world...It only serves to make you suffer, to make me suffer...Why are you doing this? Why can't we just be together?"

"Shana..."

"I won't let you...I won't let you do this!"

"..."

"RRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!"

The young hunter let out her fierce roar as the wrathful flames of Hell engulfed her tiny frame and danced along the edge of her sword. The great inferno grew until it was too much to contain and in one large swing, Shana slashed her sword in a wide arc towards her opponent. Yuji could only stare at the rushing wall of flames, hopelessly summoning Azure to fend off the searing heat, but it did little and the ring soon melted to a silver sludge which oozed down the front of his armour. Yuji cursed and braced himself for the pain but there was none. He blinked slowly and took in his surroundings, encased behind a shield of diamonds. He was as surprised as his foe.

"An unrestricted spell?" Alastor gasped. Shana barely heard him over the blood boiling within her, the furious outburst welling up within her about to explode.

_Yuji's unrestricted spell...I'll just break through it! I'll break through and put an end to this!_

The blaze grew in size and intensity. The stones began to blacken and smoulder. The clouds turned to ash and Shana's final battle cry broke through the thunderous crackling around her. Her lungs protested as she let out the greatest roar she could muster. It made her entire body shudder, made blood run to her head, made her feel stronger than ever before.

The sound of shattering glass was soon followed by a scream. The powerful blast erupted in an earth-shattering explosion and the upper portion of the tower was blown apart, scattering debris all over the wide battlefield below.

Yuji fell, plummeting towards a grim fate. He tried to catch himself in mid-air but he was falling far too fast. The momentum was too strong. He fought to catch a hold on the empty air around him but it was not until halfway through his free fall down the side of the tower that he managed to get a grip and hold his ground, hovering in the air as if it were solid ground. He let out a ragged breath, his body badly burnt. The Festival of the Snake within him was enraged, wanting nothing more than to destroy the Flaming-Haired hunter no matter what Yuji thought of her. The World Egg was in serious danger; Xanadu was on the brink of destruction, a reality quickly falling out of reach.

Something had to be done!

The time to end the battle had finally arrived.

"YUJI!" Shana's piercing cry broke through the heavens and sent a shiver down Yuji's spine. He grasped his sword and prepared himself for one last fight.

_I won't let my dream go unrealised! I have waited far too long for this1 I will not let them beat me again! I will not let the Flame Haze win this battle! I must win! I will win! _

_I must kill Shana!_

Yuji's eyes narrowed, stricken by the thoughts of the God of Creation. They broke his concentration, disrupted his thoughts, distracted him...

Shana appeared right before his eyes, her sword crashing down.

Yuji remembered his days of training with Shana, the long mornings and afternoons spent hopelessly trying to dodge her attacks, only to return to his room with bruises and sores.

_KILL HER!_

Shana's movements were so fast, barely perceptible. She moved as a blur and yet so clear. She was moving so fast and yet time seemed to slow down. Yuji stood stock still and watched on helplessly. He observed all he could before he felt the pain, the biting pain of flesh digging through flesh. The Festival of the Snake roared in defiance and blinding light erupted out from his heart. It took some time before he could see again.

Shana was close now. She exuded a warmth he had so longed to feel. Her eyes burned with passion and her blazing red hair flowed about her with hypnotic grace. Her expression changed, her gaze softening, her lips quivering in a silent whisper. She too felt hot blood splash against her, oozing out and soaking her hands until she could no longer hold her sword.

In the next instant Yuji was falling, watching as glistening red beads were left in his path, his body moving faster than his own blood. Dazzling and horrifying all at once, it mesmerised the young man

until Shana once again filled his vision. She was crying his name now, weeping. She held him up and placed him down on the lip of a crater.

"Yuji! Yuji! I'm so sorry, I...I..."

"Shh," he cooed, "It's alright Shana."

The young hunter squeezed his hand, whimpering, "Yuji..."

"Shana...All I wanted...Was to be by your side..."

Shana wiped tears from her eyes and buried her head in the crook of his neck. As she embraced him she could feel the warm blood pumping out of the gaping wound. So much blood, too much. The monsters she fought had no blood in their veins, only flames. This was all too much for her. This only reminded her that Yuji was human.

"I guess...There won't be a new world..." Yuji croaked.

"Shut up...Shut up, shut up, shut up..." Shana held him close, her voice muffled as she pressed her face against his softly beating heart. "Why...Why did you lower your sword? Why didn't you block it?"

A trembling hand ran through her hair, caressed her cheek, and cradled her chin. Yuji gazed into her eyes and forced her to meet eye to eye. He smiled, a thin trail of blood trickling down from the corner of his mouth. He was struggling to breathe, but he forced out the words regardless

"Because I love you."

And with that, the dying embers of Yuji's flame flickered out and all was dark.


	2. The Keeper of the Flame

..._**The Keeper of the Flame...**_

The tides of war shifted. With the defeat of their commander the Tomogara became heavily demoralised. Bal Masque issued a full scale retreat and the great battle shifted in the favour of the flame haze. The bitter taste of defeat left from their own retreat in the rain some time ago only serve to spur on the remaining Flame Haze who vigorously hunted down the fleeing creatures of the night.

The Flame haze had won...All but one.

Shana cradled Yuji's body and stayed by his side, even as her comrades took off in pursuit of the enemy. She no longer cared. The war meant nothing to her anymore. It was a mistake, a misunderstanding, no doubt a painful memory.

She whispered the name of her beloved as she embraced the empty shell of his corpse. He was still warm, though that was merely the heat from her own flames. There was no life in those eyes, no colour to his flesh, no more torch flickering within his heart. There was no way to escape the reality. Yuji Sakai was dead. Shana had been as executioner.

The thought repulsed her, made her feel sick and nauseas. She couldn't stand to look at herself, her sombre expression reflected in the cold dead mirrors of Yuji's eyes.

"Shana..." Alastor spoke at last, though he was uncertain what to say next. How do you console someone when they not only lost a loved, but had taken that life with their own hands? There was little to say in the way of comfort, but he felt it necessary to say something, _anything _at all and so with a heaving sigh Alastor croaked, "Shana...I'm sorry..."

The pain did not fade, did not even waver like a candle in the wind. It only buried deeper. Shana cried out in anguish, still clutching the body close. She wrapped her arms around him and compressed his body tight against her own as if the searing heat racing across her trembling form would reignite the spark of his torch and bring him back. But it did not work.

Shana collapsed in the dirt and sobbed. Her tears formed a shallow puddle in the soft, crumbling dust left behind from the vicious conflict not long gone. Her fingers dug thin trenches in the mud and clenched, dragging at the earth. The young hunter clenched her fists and clawed at the dirt, screaming in vain, cursing herself for her own recklessness, her dreadful mistakes.

What choice did she have? With no shoulder left to cry on, no open arms to retreat into. She was left alone with her blood-stained hands and the corpse she had created. The only emotion stronger than her sorrow was that of blinding rage.

"Why? Why didn't he fight back? Why did he just stand there? I could have stopped! I could have..." the Burning eyes hunter's voice was beginning to crack at the seams, "I could have saved him..."

Alastor sighed once again. He found himself unable to respond again regardless of the overwhelming compulsion to do so. He was glad he was sealed away in Shana's pendant, his embarrassment and shame hidden. However it also meant he could not console her with a way words cannot. He could not feel. Could not touch. All he could do was try and feed a comforting, radiant warmth through her heart but a wall of darkness blocked any further passage.

Already Shana was digging herself into her own reclusive little world. If he could not save her, then she would become nothing more than a hollow shell, a broken heart trapped inside an unwanted body. Alastor could not let that happen! He would not allow such a proud and strong warrior fall into the darkness of a troubled mind. He would not allow Shana to suffer through such torment!

_Damn! If only I had the arms to reach her...If only..._

Tense silence hung over them. The hours passed and no-one returned, no doubt still fighting the Tomogara. Wilhelmina, Marjory and the others were all caught up in their own bigger picture, unable to distract themselves with the struggles of a sole warrior while in the midst of such an earth-shattering battle.

The sun descended behind the mountains and in the final rays of light the great pillars of Misaki Bridge cast grand shadows across the fields of war. Shana remained by Yuji's side, even as night took hold, unable to leave his side out of guilt and the fear of being left alone.

Shana needed Yuji. He had been her source of strength, her source of confidence, her friend, her comrade, her life. He had been everything to her. He had changed her...

As Shana continued to weep over the dead a faint shadow fell across her, however it went unnoticed. A presence was detected but ignored. Shana kept her gaze low but raised her head from Yuji's shoulder at the least.

A chilled wind whistled past.

"Excuse me miss, I'm afraid your time is up."

This caused her to finally acknowledge the stranger, her stinging red eyes struggling to focus in the dark. A figure clad in the black of night stood before her, a katana drawn from its scabbard. His stance did not appear threatening, but his presence felt off, his power of existence was different from a Flame Haze of a human, even a Tomogara.

The stranger bowed gracefully and addressed her with a sympathetic frown, "I'm sorry for your loss, however I cannot give you any more time."

"W-why? What do you want?" Shana whimpered, wiping away at her eyes with her dusty sleeves.

"I've come to take you friend away." The stranger pointed his sword at Yuji and in an instant Shana had drawn her own and stood by her beloved defensively.

"I won't let you take him!" Her voice was shaken, but still firm.

The stranger studied her with a frown and groaned, "I do not wish to fight you miss. I just came to collect his soul."

"Collect...His soul?" Shana lowered her sword for a moment before taking up a fighting stance again, "Why?"

The stranger stared hard into Shana's eyes, "Because he is dead. He no longer belongs to this world. But do not worry; he will live on in Soul Society."

Shana almost let her guard down but stood her ground, defiant to the last, "Never! I won't lose him again!"

"Well, that's too bad then isn't it?"

The stranger disappeared. Shana's eyes widened and she quickly spun on her heels to scan the surroundings. As she did she spotted him standing behind her, his sword poised over Yuji's forehead.

"No!" Shana reached out to stop him but it was too late. The stranger pressed the bottom of his sword's handle against the youth's forehead and in an instant he was enveloped in blue light. It was blinding and Shana was forced to recoil from the sight, but she forced herself to push on and save Yuji from whatever fate the black clad man had in store for him. Unfortunately when she reached him her touch did not reach him.

The stranger bowed once again before he vanished behind the bright veil of light and then he was gone, as quickly as he had appeared.

Darkness reigned once more and Shana fell back into the dirt, staring up at the sky and the moon in a state of disbelief.

Just who was that? What did they want with Yuji? And what powers were they using? But more importantly, what was Soul Society and how could Shana get there? That was the burning question in her mind.

Before she could even ask, Alastor replied to her question, "I'm afraid I have never heard of this 'Soul Society' before. Perhaps Outlaw may have some information regarding it, but I cannot be certain."

Shana nodded and scanned the expanse of Misaki city in its night-time extravagance. The shining lights, dancing shadows and otherworldly calm were somewhat mystifying. They seemed to soothe the hunter's jangled nerves, but the pain seizing her was still there, only just buried beneath the surface. But for now she forced herself to stay strong.

The Flame-haired, Burning-eyed Hunter took upon herself a new mission. No matter what, she would find Yuji and bring him back, if not to life, then at least to his home, Misaki city, to be laid in peace. She feared the might of the black clad warrior, but fear would not get in her way, nor doubt or sorrow.

Shana was ready to fight. And not even the Grim Reaper could stand in her way.


	3. Following a Trail of Ashes

…_**Following a Trail of Ashes...**_

I really do appologise for the lateness of my update but here is the next chapter. Please review, I hope you like it._**  
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Distraught and alone, the burning eyed hunter retreated back home. She sat on the roof, staring up at the thickening cropping of dark black clouds above the city. They had not cleared since the fall of the battle, only grown to a greater shade of soulless black.

"Yuji..." Shana whispered beneath her breath, still coming in strained gasps. She was undoubtedly on edge ever since the man in black had appeared. His presence was barely traceable and he moved with the speed and grace of the wind. She couldn't even track his movements. He could sneak up on her at any time and take her away too.

That thought occurred promising to the young flame haze, but it eventually dawned upon her. The man in black would only collect the dead, such was his word. The only way he would show her this mysterious 'Soul Society' would be if she too was claimed by the impenetrable darkness of death. But to do that would be to fail herself and her promise to Yuji.

She had to stay alive to accomplish her duty. If the man in black returned she would have to defeat him. Surrender was not an option for her.

And so she returned to where she had started, stuck in a loop of confusion. With no plan, no leads, no clues, only a recent memory freshly burned into her mind.

Once again, Shana was lost...

"Yuji...Where are you? I...I..." Grief claimed the trembling young girl and she wept into her torn sleeve. The sky too shared in her grief, sending flooding rain to cleanse the dead from the ashes of the battlefield in Misaki city.

The Flame Haze would be almost finished in their battles now, the Tomogara likely already defeated. The Bal Masque had already fled from the battlefield leaving only their minions trapped behind. Those lucky enough to escape would live to lick their wounds but their dreams would be shattered from here on out.

Xanadu...Paradise...It was all but a dream. Now it was time to wake up and face reality.

The rain extinguished the blazing fire in Shana's heart and matted her glistening black hair to her pale face. She was drenched and cold, shivering. It only brought memories of her time with Yuji. The time he had found her squatting on his rooftop in the pouring rain. He had offered to let her inside and she reluctantly obliged just to get him to be quiet. How foolish she had been back then.

Now she wanted to be by his side more than ever before.

"Shana," Alastor spoke softly, barely heard over the rain, "perhaps we should head inside. You have had a rough day. You should rest."

Shana stared down at her feet, observing the rain drops bouncing off against the tiles and sliding in thin rivulets down to the gutters.

"Shana, please. I really think you should rest." Alastor pleaded.

The young maiden responded. She rose to her feet and scanned the horizon, eyes searching the dark. She remained stock still and remained focused on the rising columns of smoke in the distance. Alastor continued to beg for her to rest but it took some time for his words to finally reach her. The down-hearted warrior clambered down from the roof and stepped inside the small house she shared with her guardian and mentor Wilhelmina.

She stood alone in the darkness for a while, eventually raking a slender hand across the light switch and bathing the front room in dull fluorescent light which offered no warmth. Shana stood in the puddle left from the rainwater running off of her coat sleeves and dripping to the floor. Her shoes, soaked through leaked against the floor only spreading the stain of cold grey water.

"I'm having a bath." Shana said in a manner as cold as her shivering frame. She slipped off her pendant and left Alastor lying on the counter in the kitchen while she stumbled off into the bathroom.

When she was alone Shana wandered over to the bath and let if fill while she stared at her haggard reflection in the mirror. Her eyes were red, not from her battle form but simply from the endless stream of tears. Her blazing red hair had returned to the smouldered colour of ashes, stuck to her body from the rain, it clung to her cheeks, her shoulders and ran down her back in a frayed black cape.

She despised the weak figure she saw in the mirror. It was a reflection of her every fault, every weakness. It was that figure in the mirror that could not save Yuji, could not see the truth behind Yuji's actions and couldn't pull back the blade as her beloved Yuji had done. It was this figure in the mirror that had caused this all!

But self-loathing was a useless venture for her. No matter how hard she beat herself up it would not solve her problems, it would not accomplish her goals or set her past mistakes right. It would only bring her down further.

Steam billowed out from the large ceramic tub and fogged up the mirror until Shana's reflection was only a blur. She closed her eyes and sighed. She undressed, peeling away the torn, blood-soaked clothes that had become glued to her skinny frame.

Her aching muscles cried out as she climbed into the tub and slowly lowered herself. The water was scalding but she bore the brunt of the pain and reclined in the stagnant water. The water cleansed her wounds, sending tiny trails of crimson mist to float up to the surface along with the dirt and grime and encrusted blood coating her wounded body. As the purifying flood drained away her pain she closed her eyes and took her much needed rest.

It was only when the aching chill of fluid long gone cold struck her that Shana finally rose and caught her bearings. When she returned to Alastor she was wrapped only in a towel. In most circumstances she would have been embarrassed in such a state, but as her memories served her she remembered once telling Yuji that she and Alastor were so close that neither shared any shame in such things.

She also remembered the burning in her cheeks when Yuji saw her naked. The bitter-sweet memory made her blush but feel empty as well.

Everything reminded her of her wonderful past with Yuji. She could not escape it.

But of course you cannot escape the past. However you can still challenge the future. Shana held those words close, igniting the flame once more. She had done away with her mourning. She had washed away her guilt and sorrow. Only her determination was set to remain. Only her blazing desire to find the boy she loved and bring him back. She would stand firm and fight with everything she had. She was prepared now to face her fears, her greatest challenges.

"Alastor," she said with renewed spirit, "I _will _find Yuji!"

If his face were visible within the pendant she would have seen Alastor's beaming smile. With a dry chuckle Alastor affirmed her wish, "Of course. Just what I would expect of the flame-haired, blazing-eyed hunter."

Shana's expression shifted. Not so much a smile, but the first sign of a frown now lifted. She nodded and in a flash of light Shana re-appeared dressed in her black clad battle dress. Nietono no Shana clasped tightly within her small finger, the young flame haze strolled confidently outside into the night air and stared at the rising sun beyond the mountains.

"It is almost morning..." Alastor muttered.

Shana nodded once again and pointed her blade towards the discoloured sky, "I shall be waiting for the Grim Reaper to appear once again. Then I will find my way into this...'Soul Society'...Wait for me Yuji, I will be there with you soon."

Almost as an afterthought, Shana added, "That's a promise!"

* * *

><p>The sun rose early and the world resumed as if the great war had never occurred. Students went on their way to school; traffic flooded the streets and commuters made their way to work. The crater in the middle of the city was a bustling hive of construction workers, policemen and emergency crews all trying to clear the wreckage, treat any wounded (Fortunately there were none. Unfortunately that was because anyone caught within the area was long since dead.) and block the area off to keep the city running smoothly.<p>

Shana walked purposefully down the busy shopping district, scanning the flickering flames of the torches. The attacks by the Tomogara left many torches behind and already many were already beginning to waver and burn out.

Shana trailed behind a businessman who slumped over sluggishly as he clawed his way towards the street corner. He collapsed in a heap before reaching it and simply vanished. Shana waited and staked out the area for an entire hour but no man in black arrived to claim the dead.

Shana followed another extinguished torch and again nothing. She followed yet another and another and another and none of them yielded the mysterious man in black. It was already the afternoon by then and Shana's search had been utterly fruitless.

The disappointed flame haze retired to the roof of a shopping mall and studied the street below with a sour expression.

"Damn! Where is he? He should have come to collect the dead by now!"

"Hang on," Alastor calmly interjected her tantrum, "We have never seen such beings around torches in the past. He must only collect fresh living souls. Torches are _our _replacements and must be of no use to them."

"So we need a freshly devoured victim then?" Shana asked with a groan. "The Tomogara are all but defeated and driven back to the Crimson Realm. Where are we going to find a fresh victim?"

"Hmm." Alastor gave pause and returned with a strange fault in his voice, "This may seem unusual and quite possibly mad, but perhaps the victim does not have to be devoured by a denizen? As long as the victim is killed..."

"Alastor! You're not suggesting I actually-"

"No, no, that would be awful! But accidents happen and tragedy strikes around every corner. The humans here are not immortal."

"I see..."

Shana glanced down at the busy street below. A child on his way to school ran along the pavement, laughing and cheering. He ran along the gutter, dangerously close to the oncoming traffic but he fearlessly continued his journey to school, however a middle aged man in a suit accidentally bumped into the boy and sent him tumbling out onto the road.

First came the jarring thud, then the screams.

Shana's eyes widened in shock and her jaw dropped. As much as she had witnessed of humans devoured by beasts from the Crimson Realm she had rarely been confronted with deaths such as this. She hovered over the edge and stared at the gathering crowd. Just as they began to congregate they scattered once again as the window of the mall beneath her was blown outwards and a lumpy object crashed into the pavement sending butterfly wings of gore from the corpse.

More screams. Gunshots now, yelling.

"What...What's going on?"

"A robbery perhaps?" Alastor suggested gravely.

Shana rushed down the fire escape and burst into the landing inside the shopping mall. She dove into the foray of stampeding citizens, all running away from the thunderous roar of gunfire which echoed across the wide open halls.

Nonsensical shouting came from a crazed gunman a hundred metres away. He was not trying to steal anything; he was merely on a violent, bloody rampage. Citizens were mowed down as the madman shot wildly into the crowd.

Shana grit her teeth and raced through the crowds. "That bastard! How dare he take innocent lives! He's worse than the denizens! I won't let him get away with this!" Shana roared like a caged animal as she made her way over to the madman. With her sword drawn Shana leapt through the air over the heads of the screaming shoppers and landed in the clearing between the piles of corpses and the rear flank of the fleeing people.

Two security guards were in a gunfight with the shooter now who was pinned down behind a stall selling jewellery. Shana made to approach him when she felt that same sinister presence from before. She seized up and glanced around in a frenzy, finally catching sight of the man in black standing at a safe distance. He did not act, merely watched on with folded arms.

Shana's anger towards the man in black had to wait and she pried herself away from his cold gaze and rushed towards the gunman. Surprised at the intruder in his game of life and death the gunman let out a bestial cry of panic as he whirled the gun around and unleashed a rain of bullets. Shana ducked under the worst of it, but a few of the bullets tore through her shoulder and side. She soldiered on however and charged.

The madman took his aim again and even with Shana's strength a direct burst at such short range would be fatal. As the shooter squeezed the trigger Shana wheeled around to the side and hacked down on the barrel of the gun. The lunatic continued to squeeze the trigger regardless and the mutilated weapon exploded in his face.

He staggered about in a daze only to be cut down by Shana's blade. She couldn't control herself. Never had she been in such a situation with a human enemy. She had never known how to react to human violence, only ever trained to destroy the Tomogara. This foe was one she had never faced before but panic, adrenaline, fear, anger, hatred and sadness all erupted out in one furious outburst. Her sword sliced through the gunman and he collapsed to the floor where Shana hacked into him, screaming hysterically.

"Shana! Shana, stop it! Leave him be! Shana!" Alastor's demands fell on deaf ears as Shana released everything she had pent up throughout her ordeal.

The mall security took aim and fired but a blazing aura incinerated the incoming bullets which turned to liquid and then ashes before they could reach her.

"SHANA!" Alastor roared, his voice thunderous in the great halls of the mall.

The blazing eyed Hunter's response was a wordless outburst of inhuman rage. She continued to cry hysterically as she carved up what little remained of the killer. The blaring sirens outside, the screaming citizens, Alastor's cries, the gunfire from all sides now. None of it registered to her within the walls of her flaming prison cell.

But it came crashing down in the next instant.

Shana's body froze with her arms crooked behind her back at awkward angles and an explosion around her made the security guards scatter like ants. The wild flame haze glared at the encroaching shadow, madder than ever.

It was the man in black.

"It's horrible isn't it? Seeing such violence. It makes you wonder what goes through some people's minds doesn't it?"

"You!" Shana shrieked, "Why did you stand by and do nothing? You could have saved them!"

The Grim Reaper laughed a sickening laugh, "Such foolish talk. Nature must run its course. People have to die or the balance for our world would be thrown off. That child outside, all those people in here. They all were destined to die here today. To interfere would be unnatural."

"Nonsense!"

"Hardly," the man quickly retorted, "As much as it pains me to see such things they are a necessity in this world. I have no choice but to stand back and watch. Besides, if I were to interfere, my personal emotions would only make matters worse. Such is your mistake young lady. Your judgement was clouded by anger your own sadness and now all you have created is another disaster."

"N-no! I only did-"

"You lost control of your power like the weak-willed child that you are. You should have held your sword at bay. This is exactly why I had to take away your friend last night."

The man in black smiled at his own comment.

Flames devoured the interior of the store.


	4. Burn Out

..._**Burn Out...**_

The man in black had smiled at his own cruel joke. He found it amusing to toy with this girl who had deluded herself into understanding the worlds of the dead, but she was merely a pawn in a larger game.

However this pawn was stronger than he had thought.

His wicked little joke had severed a nerve best left untouched and with a fearsome cry the girl became enveloped in hungry flames. The flickering tongues lashed out at him but the ghostly warrior leapt back to a safe distance away from the inferno.

Shana rose, her head bowed, eyes downcast. Her shoulders were heaving with each rasping breath. She took a tentative step forward and looked up, her eyes blazing like minute suns. "You...How dare you! You have no idea what I've been through! You dare to joke about what happened as if it were nothing! I'll make you pay for those words!"

The warrior groaned and drew his own sword, "Yet again your emotions and misgivings take hold of your decisions. You really are but a child. You dare raise your sword against a shinigami?"

Shana snarled and raced forward with her blade raised high. Their swords crashed in a fantastic rain of sparks. The two threw each other back and both stumbled to a safe distance to regain their bearings before rushing in again. With their swords locked in a razor-edged cross their faces were close enough to stare deep into each other's eyes and find the secrets buried behind their gaze.

"Shinigami? What is that?"

"We are the true guardians of this world. You Flame Haze are all the same, arrogant and prideful but always useless!"

"Grr, if you are so important why have I never seen your kind before?"

The shinigami smirked at that, his face contorting into a smile, "You've been chasing your little demon friends all your life. You haven't tasted the reality of the world until now. This was your first taste of the human world was it not? You've only seen monsters sucking out souls but today you witnessed hands stained with blood! You saw the human side of death. The _true_ side of death! That is our domain little girl. Your poorly handled fantasies have had you distracted while we shinigami have done the real work!"

The two separated and landed in crouches several metres apart. They sized each other up before hacking at each other once more, skilfully evading each other's strikes and dealing vicious blows only to be expertly guarded by the other. They met in a stand-still once more and cursed.

Shana scowled at her foe, "You think the Tomogara are just a fairy-tale? I've been fighting to keep the balance-"

"HA! Balance of the worlds? That was what you wanted to say was it not?" Shana's expression slightly twitched at his remark. "Foolish girl do you not see anything wrong with your mission?"

Shana frowned.

"Your entire purpose is to stop these creatures, Tomogara as you call them. Your holy mission is simply to punish those who have already done their damage. You prevent nothing. Those torches you make only soften your fall when you have let down everyone who died. You all respond to situations only when it is too late. You do not strike at their source either to prevent their crossing; you simply wait for the bodies to pile up and then move to act."

"No, that's not it at all! We don't..." Shana trailed off and let his words sink in.

"You act as if the Tomogara must be proven guilty before they are to be destroyed, as if there are peaceful beings amongst them. But if that were the case there would be no Flame Haze needed to monitor them. It is simple. You let them cross and you continue to let them cross into this world without a care. You should be preventing their crossing in the first place, but none of you Flame Haze can see such a need and continue to stand idly by while innocent people are slain. And yet you despise me for being a bystander...Absurd!"

Shana let out a defiant cry and pushed the shinigami back. Before he could recover she lunged in for the kill. She thrust her sword forward and the shinigami weaved to the side but Nietono no Shana still sliced through his sleeve and left a thin red trail in its midst.

"You're wrong...You're wrong..." she chanted more so to herself than to any other. She didn't want to believe him but his words echoed the truth. She and every other Flame Haze were useless. They did nothing to stop the denizens until it was already too late. They were just leaving innocent people to die...

She may as well have cut them down herself...

The shinigami backed away but remained in an offensive stance. "Do you believe me now girl? Your life's mission is a waste! We shinigami fight for the good of these people. We slay the foul creatures that prey on innocent souls _before _they can hunt. _We _are the ones who maintain the balance of the world! You are nothing more than a nuisance."

Shana gripped her katana so hard the bones in her fingers were aching, "Shut up! Shut up, shut up, shut up!" Flames raced across the edge of her sword once more, unleashed behind a mighty downward slash. The flames shot off towards the shinigami who carefully dodged them and pushed onto the offensive.

Their swords danced once again but the rage burning without the small girl was only growing stronger with each clash. The shinigami's taunting words only infuriated her more, only drove her forward to destroy him!

"You have lived your live thinking you keep the world in balance, but what of accidents? I've never seen a Flame Haze create a torch for someone in an accident? Or how about the sick? You have done nothing but meaninglessly expend your energy on a futile struggle! We are the ones who maintain the balance! It would be best to know your place!"

"Silence!" Shana cried, barging her shoulder into the shinigami's side. As he stumbled back she spun her sword in a wide circle until it collided with his side. As blood spurted out and splattered against the floor the shinigami began to falter. He tried to regain his balance but only fell into the railing which stood over the immense empty space in the middle of the upper floor of the store. The burning wreckage on the floor below left black columns of smoke to waft up to the ceiling, only to be trapped and circulate within.

"You...How dare you draw blood from one such as me? This is unforgivable!"

"Ha!" Shana spat, "Unforgivable?" You stole Yuji from me...You said such awful things..."

"I spoke nothing but the truth!" The shinigami roared. "You foolish little girl," he took a shaken grip on his sword and steadied himself, "Is the only way to open your eyes to pluck them out of your skull?"

"Just try it!" the girl snarled.

The two roared as they made their final charge. Swords raised high, spirits raging the two collided behind a wall of flames which shook the building's foundations and shattered the ceiling. Amidst the explosive confrontation two figures emerged from the dust cloud.

In silence they stood stock still.

In silence the shinigami fell.

In silence his body splintered and broke off into tiny fragments of pale blue light. The shinigami disintegrated, his body scattered in the wind, blown away by the cold gusts sweeping through the open wounds in the ceiling.

Shana fought back tears and ran from the store. She did not care where she headed; she simply wanted to get away, to escape, to get as far from this nightmare as she possibly could. Cold blood soaked through her coat, the sensation of its deathly droplets upon her skin, revolting. It sent chills up through her thin frame and left her stomach to quake in nauseous revulsion.

This day she had killed humans. She had taken lives, never been able to save them. Not only that, she had killed the shinigami, her one clue to Yuji's whereabouts. If his words were true she had left this city in danger, left without its hidden defender in its hour of need.

Shana kept on running, not knowing where. All she knew was that Soul Society was her ultimate destination. She did not know how to get there or even if she could. But the details were irrelevant now. It was all she could do to hold onto her wish to once again hold Yuji close.

She had sworn to go through Heaven and Hell to find him and just as well...

Hell was waiting for her...


	5. Spreading the Flames

..._**Spreading The Flames...**_

Under the veil of night a young boy and girl flitted through the sparse tree-tops and buildings of their quiet neighbourhood. A piercing cry only they could hear served to warn them of the impending threat. They each nodded to one another and made their way towards the shrieking.

The two dropped out into the middle of a quiet intersection and fanned out as a looming shadow approached. A creature with glowing eyes and glistening fangs stared down its opponents and hissed in challenge.

The two each drew their weapons and charged. Their combined battle-cry competed with the defiant roar of the beast, though anyone nearby would only be able to hear the boy and girl as they fought their unseen foe.

Their battle was not long. A simple diversion by the girl allowed the boy to strike from the side, cleaving the monster's head from its shoulders. As it fell the girl buried her blade between the demon's eyes and together they watched as the massive corpse dispersed on the soft breeze as if made of sand.

They each shared a knowing glance and then they were off, leaving the scene of their unusual confrontation.

No humans had seen them; however a young Flame Haze had been observing them from the garden of a small house across the road. As soon as they made their departure Shana gave chase, however she struggled to match the speed of the two warriors and their ghostly steps. She was still fatigued from her journey. Disoriented and alone, Shana had wound up in a town she did not know. Every face, a strangers. She had tried hunting down the shinigami in the area but her efforts had only paid off then when the two young warriors had entered the fray.

Shana could hear the monsters as well. She did not know what they were, definitely different from the Tomogara, yet vaguely similar. Just another mystery to solve it seemed, however Shana could not care for them now. She was set on the trial to Soul Society and those two shinigami could very well be her key.

And so she pursued them across the town as far as she could manage, but their unusual speed got the better of her and Shana lost sight of them before long.

Consumed by disappointment and resentment Shana retired to the rooftops to rest and catch her breath. Alastor had been strangely quiet for the last two nights. Shana felt it best not to pry, dwelling upon her own problems instead, however in the back of her mind she was still worried.

"_GROOOOOOAAARRGH!"_

Another of the monsters had awakened. Shana's eyes narrowed as she tried to pin-point where the sound had come from. After a moment's hesitation she leapt across the rooftops to the rising dust-cloud a few blocks away.

* * *

><p>Indeed, it was another of the creatures with a bleached bone mask to hide its face. The beast descended upon a small child with a weak flickering flame of existence. A torch nearing its end. And yet the boy screamed like he would have when he was alive. He was not worn down or unresponsive like most torches. He was terrified.<p>

Shana cursed under her breath and waited for the shinigami to arrive. She did not have to wait long. In a matter of seconds they arrived, rushing in from both sides and slicing up from the demon's chin to the opposite corner of its mask, creating a large 'X' engraved in the beast's head. The ghoulish creature howled in its death throes as it too disintegrated, just as the others had done, just like that shinigami when Shana had taken his life.

Those same two shinigami exchanged a few words and then they set off again. Shana followed, taking the high ground of the roof-tops while her prey kept to the roads below. She managed to keep track with them for three blocks this time before losing sight and falling against the railing of a second story balcony, breathless.

"Shana, you should rest for the night. You cannot keep going on like this." Alastor finally spoke up.

Shana grit her teeth and groaned, "Not yet...I can keep going! Just one more..."

The restless young Flame Haze panted heavily while straining to hear the inevitable roar of another demon. She was at least a little closer to breathing comfortably before being stirred into action once again. The night had grown much darker by then but Shana was unperturbed by the encroaching black blanket in the sky.

Shana raced across the roofs and treetops towards another quiet street where the shinigami were fending off a larger beast. They took some time to slay it, first having to hold their ground against the creature's vicious stand-off. However once their offensive was launched the monster was doomed. It succumbed to the boy's sword which arced down from the heavens and down through the top of its skull. The monster collapsed in a heap and blew away leaving no trace.

Shana dropped down into the street to be closer to her targets and trailed them further once again. Inevitably she lost her targets as they rounded a corner into another little street. Shana rushed around the corner after them but discovered no traces of them in the empty area.

With an exasperated sigh Shana trudged down the road for a while, coming to stop outside one of the houses. A hand painted sign on the front door read 'Kurosaki Clinic'. The lights were all out, aside from one of the upstairs rooms. For a moment Shana stood in the middle of the road, simply staring up at the clinic, mesmerised.

She wasn't sure, but she felt something strange inside. It was a presence she had felt before, but her memory offered no clues as to who or what it was. With her body beginning to wear down once again Shana gave one last mighty leap and perched herself atop the roof of the clinic.

"Something is in there," Shana explained softly to Alastor, "I'm not sure what it is...But I think I should stay here for a while and check it out."

"As you wish." Alastor replied indifferently.

And so Shana curled up into a ball, draping her coat around herself as a makeshift blanket to fight off the cold. She stared down at the empty street below in absolute silence and simply waited for whatever was lurking inside the clinic to step outside.

* * *

><p>"Ichigo! Ichigo wake up! Wake up! Quick!"<p>

"Ugh..." Ichigo groaned as he rolled over in his bed, squinting to see his little sister standing before him, pushing and prodding in an attempt to wake him up. He raised a hand to call her off and slowly rose up into a seated position. "What's wrong Yuzu? It's so early..."

Yuzu trembled as she pointed frantically outside, "T-t-there's someone out there!"

Ichigo blinked, "Huh?"

"Someone just fell out of nowhere into the yard! I was making breakfast when I heard something up on the roof so I went outside to go check it out when a body dropped down out of nowhere! You have to come quick!"

She had uttered all of this without taking a breath once. She was sweating and her legs were wobbling, visibly shaken from her ordeal. It was enough to pry Ichigo out of bed and hastily get changed before following his sister's lead downstairs.

She stopped near the door and hesitated, too afraid to head out first. Ichigo rolled his eyes and moved ahead of her. The door handle was crisp and cold on his hands, rousing him entirely from his half-asleep state. Unwilling to hold onto the door handle he wrenched it around and pushed the door open as fast as possible.

Indeed, Yuzu had been right. Lying face-down on the stone path outside their door was a child-sized mass wrapped up in a heavy black coat.

Yuzu clung to her brother, her entire body trembling against him.

"Just stay there, Yuzu, I'll check it out." Ichigo spoke calmly, pushing his sister back to the door while cautiously stepping outside into the frigid air. As he got closer he could make out a dark red pool forming around the mop of black hair that jutted out from the curled up mass. Taking a deep breath Ichigo moved closer and stooped down into a crouch over the body.

With a white-knuckled hand Ichigo ran a hand through the shiny black hair. Gently he turned the head and brushed aside the long black bangs from the tiny face beneath. With eyes wide Ichigo sat back on his haunches and gasped, "Its...It looks like a little girl! Where the Hell did she come from?"

Yuzu made whimpering noises as Ichigo turned the body over, revealing a thin-framed young girl in a tattered skirt and bloodied sweater. Her face was smeared in blood which seeped from a nasty gash on her forehead. She looked to be in terrible shape, as if she hadn't eaten in days let alone bathed or even rested. Perhaps she was homeless, Ichigo thought.

"Yuzu, go prepare a bed and get the first aid kit." Ichigo spoke still with an air of calm. He checked the mysterious girl's pulse and found a faint trace of life. Thankfully she was just unconscious, however if she really did fall on her head then there could be some serious problems.

Ichigo checked her neck and the back of her head for any further injuries and then scooped her up in his arms to carry her inside.

Waiting for them in a small back room lined with hospital beds was Yuzu. She helped Ichigo set down the girl and began cleaning the gash while Ichigo went searching through the first aid kit for gauze and bandages.

"I-Is she going to be okay?" the frightened little sister asked, getting up on the tips of her toes to peer past her brother who had leaned over their wounded guest. He did not answer her question but curiosity got the better of her and Yuzu repeated herself.

"Yuzu," Ichigo snapped, not bothering to turn to her, "Please be quiet. You go back to making breakfast and get ready for school. I can take care of this."

With a disturbed little frown Yuzu slowly backed off and left the room.

Ichigo let out a deep sigh and stared at the wound on the stranger's forehead. The skin had been badly scraped by the path and left a raw open wound which was still spitting blood at an alarming pace. Ichigo placed a cloth over it and compressed to stem the blood flow, however he was hesitant to do so, anticipating the girl waking up screaming in agony. He decided to simply leave the cloth for a moment to absorb the worst of the bleeding and then set to patching it up. The wound was too wide to be stitched up and it wasn't horrendously deep. It would heal in time, maybe leave a scar, but it wouldn't be fatal...

Or so he hoped...

After placing gauze across her forehead and wrapping that up under some bandages, Ichigo once again checked her pulse and heart-beat. For a while he just sat frozen in his seat, staring down at the poor thing that had mysteriously fallen from the heavens. She couldn't have been much older than Yuzu, most likely the same age. She had soft snow-white cheeks under all the dirt and blood and grime. Coupled with her long raven hair she was rather beautiful, almost doll-like. Despite being dressed in dirty, worn out clothes an expensive looking pendant hung about her neck. A blazing red stone embedded in a golden frame dangled from a golden chain. It seemed far too extravagant for the girl to be carrying.

"Is it stolen?" he mused aloud, considering the stark contrast between the downtrodden child and the precious stone. He quickly shook his head and discarded the thought and focused on the more important questions.

Who was this girl?

Where did she come from?

What happened to her?

"Ichigo?" a familiar voice called from the door-way. Her shadow filled up the dimly lit room and covered him upon her approach. He craned his neck to glance at a small-framed young woman with silken black hair which settled upon her shoulders and wrapped her round face. Her penetrating blue eyes bore down upon him, her expression asking the questions instead.

"Hey Rukia..." he replied, his voice ashen, "I don't suppose you've seen this kid before?"

The woman, Rukia squinted at the mysterious child and frowned, "No...Can't say I have. Is she the one that got Yuzu all hyped up?"

Ichigo nodded, "She fell off the roof, god knows what she was doing up there. I think she might be homeless, I mean her clothes are filthy and she seems malnourished. She must have been wandering the streets for days, poor thing."

"Did Yuzu recognise her at all?"

"No. She doesn't know who it is either. I can't believe a kid could just be walking the streets alone at night for so long and not have anyone even notice..."

"Ah, Ichigo! Her fingers! They're moving!"

The two watched on in stunned awe as the girl's tiny fingers curled up into a fist and then relaxed almost as quickly as they had seized up. They grasped at the sheets and went limp once more. All the while her face scrunched up and her eyes began to flutter open. Behind her huge lashes were large amber eyes. They rolled about lazily, unfocussed.

Ichigo's eyes narrowed as he met her gaze. She stared at him, without making a sound, however her lips trembled as if she desperately wanted to scream.

"Uh...H-Hello there...My name is Ichigo Kurosaki..."

The girl suddenly tensed up and Ichigo felt himself panicking a little himself. She made soft wailing sounds like a small animal caught in a trap and anxiously averted her gaze to search for an escape.

"Please...Please calm down, I can explain..."

She wasn't listening, still preoccupied with finding an escape route.

"We found you lying in our yard...You were hurt pretty bad so I took you in and patched you up. You see my family runs a little clinic here so..."

"Clinic?" The girl suddenly croaked. It took everyone by surprise, even herself it seemed as her pupils dilated to tiny dots upon some concealed realisation. Ichigo noticed her muscles tensing and in the blink of an eye she was jumping up out of the bed.

Both Ichigo and Rukia caught her and held her down while the mysterious little girl screamed and screamed. Yuzu came bolting in from the kitchen, as did the other sibling of the family, Karin. Surrounded by strangers the girl only became more terrified. Tears clung to her cheeks as her cries became disrupted by choking fits.

Ichigo opened his mouth to speak but was cut off by a sharp kick to the face. He stumbled back, unleashing a low grunt. His hands, clutching his face, came away bloody.

Rukia tried her best to restrain the girl but her unusually swift reflexes allowed the strange child to wrap her arms and legs around Rukia's torso and with a display of unnatural strength, push off and throw her into the wall. Rukia barely managed to let out a startled squeal before hitting the wall with a thick, jarring thud.

The girl, still screaming indecipherable nonsense sprang up onto her feet and remained in a poised crouch like a predator waiting to strike. Glaring with jittery, unfocused eyes she kept her eye on Ichigo while also checking the location of the two younger siblings blocking the doorway.

The young child tensed up once again and made a desperate leap for the doorway, intending to barrel into the younger of her captors and break free. However immediately upon her launch a heavy body lunged from her side. Spear-tackled from mid-air, the girl cart-wheeled across the room and collapsed into a tray full of utensils and equipment.

Dazed and weak from her expended adrenaline surge, the girl suddenly became quite docile allowing Ichigo to gather himself and finally approach her. She was faintly mumbling something, as if a mantra to keep herself together. He realised then, the words she had been screaming before were not gibberish, she had been crying out a name...

Sakai Yuji...


	6. The Wavering Flame

..._**The Wavering Flame...**_

Ichigo crouched down before the mysteriously heaven-sent girl and frowned. Her eyes barely met his, seeming to look past him rather than directly at him. Nonetheless he took it as a chance to address her.

"Excuse me...Uh...Sorry about that...I, um..." He struggled to find the right words, trailing off and looking down at his hands for a moment before trying again, "I just want you to know; we are here to help you. You have to trust me okay? I promise I won't hurt you, so please...No more fighting." He said this while rubbing his bleeding nose.

The girl's gaze focused on him then and her head seemed to just barely move forward before rolling back again.

A nod?

"Good...Now...I have some questions for you, but first off how about we find somewhere a little more comfortable than the floor huh?" Ichigo offered a genuine smile, trying as hard as he could to appear non-threatening. He always knew his permanently scowling face made him appear scary to others but he'd never experienced a reaction like _that _before.

Grasping her by the shoulders, Ichigo felt the girl shudder. Feigning ignorance Ichigo helped her up and led her out of the clinic into the living room. The girl naturally drifted toward the sofa and sat down, slumping into it, exhausted.

He sat down in a one-seater next to her and sighed.

"Right...Uh...Would you please tell me your name?"

This seemed to mystify the girl. She glanced away for a moment and blushed though Ichigo couldn't exactly figure out why. After a long period of hesitation she finally whispered in a voice as soft as a summer breeze, "Shana..."

"Shana. That's a pretty name." She blushed even more then. "Well then Shana, would you like something to drink? Or maybe something to eat?"

Her eyes lit up in a manner tragically pointing out her starvation. As he had thought, the girl must not have had any food for days. With a slight nod he rose to his feet and passed into the kitchen, bringing in what was supposed to be his breakfast. He handed it over and watched the girl gulp it down as if it were liquid. A weak smile crossed her features as she set the plate down on the coffee table.

"Was that good?" A vague little nod in answer. "Would you like some more?"

Another nod.

Ichigo returned to the kitchen and brought in what had been reserved as Rukia's share. Once again Shana consumed it in less than ten seconds. Without asking he got up and brought in a pitcher of water and a glass. He poured her a glass and watched it disappear in the blink of an eye. The whole pitcher was gone in under a minute.

"Feel a little better now?" Ichigo asked in a calm tone.

"Hmm, a little." she mumbled back.

Satisfied that she wouldn't go hungry Ichigo decided to get to the more important issue at hand. He clasped his hands together and took a deep breath, struggling to collect his thoughts.

"Well Shana...Would you mind telling me why you decided to drop by?" His strained joke didn't get a laugh out of her. In fact it only seemed to confuse her. When at last she was about to answer she caught herself and refrained at the very last second.

"If you don't want to tell me, that's fine, I just wanted to ask." he shrugged whilst saying this. He waited a little longer to see if she would inevitably answer but she stayed her tongue the whole time.

After an awkward silence Ichigo finally leaned forward and grasped one of her tiny little hands. They felt so soft and fragile, as if the slightest move could break them, and yet she had managed to throw Rukia a couple of metres with them...

Shana stared at him then, a little disturbed by the sudden contact. As she looked directly into his eyes Ichigo asked the next probing question:

"So, Shana...Who is Sakai Yuji?"

In an instant Ichigo felt his heart shatter. Her eyes clouded immediately at the mention of the name and her frail, defensive smile collapsed under the sudden stress. Her shoulders slumped and her body went slack like a puppet having its strings severed.

"I'm sorry I didn't mean to-"

The girl looked up then with a fearsome intensity behind the freely flowing tears. She sniffed and took several deep wracking breaths before responding, "How? How do you know that name?"

"Oh, i-it's just that you were calling out for him earlier when you were...A little delirious..."

She scowled and averted her gaze, "He is an important person." The way she said it reminded Ichigo of the way Yuzu used to throw tantrums at the mall when she was much younger.

"A relative?"

"Even more important." she snapped, still looking away.

"Ah, sorry, I didn't mean to pry..."

"..."

"Does he know where you are?"

Shana shook her head quite readily, refuting that suggestion.

"Do you know where he is?"

Her face twitched. Once again she made to answer but cut herself off before revealing too much. She wiped away her tears and just glared at Ichigo.

"Is there some way we can contact him? Would he be able to pick you up? Or if he doesn't live too far from here we could drop you off?"

She only got more irritated. Her mood swings seemed to strike out of nowhere and Ichigo couldn't predict them at all. However he wondered about her reluctance to talk about this Sakai Yuji. Perhaps she had a falling out with him and that was why she had been left out on the streets?

He decided it was best to drop the topic and decided to inquire about something else.

"Have you got anywhere to stay?"

After some deliberation she shook her head.

"Well then, would you like to stay here? You should rest, especially with that nasty little wound."

Shana probed her forehead and traced her delicate fingers across the bandages wrapped tightly over gauze. She seemed about ready to refuse his offer but ended up giving a reluctant nod.

"So, would you like to rest here or in a bed? We've got loads of spare beds since we're a community clinic. But we've also got some proper beds upstairs."

The girl rose to her feet and waited for Ichigo to lead the way. She hovered on her heels next to the stair railing giving an obvious enough hint for Ichigo to follow. He showed her Yuzu's bedroom but Shana seemed to recoil from it and instead gravitated towards Ichigo's own room.

"You want to go in there?" He asked incredulously, though he still opened the door and led her inside. "Well, make yourself comfortable, I guess. Would you like another drink of water?"

Shana responded with a simple 'Yes' and crawled up onto the mattress, lying down flat with her arms and legs sprawled out. Ichigo respectfully looked away to avoid seeing up her skirt and left the room.

Downstairs in the clinic Rukia was cleaning up the mess left after their little 'episode' earlier. Yuzu and Karin had gone to school while the two teens had silently resigned themselves to having a day off to watch out for their guest.

"How is she?" Rukia asked while wiping blood from the floor.

"Better, I think. She is still a little upset though; she got really ticked off when I tried to get some information out of her. Oh and her name is Shana."

"Shana? Can't say I've ever heard of her. She really is a mystery."

"You're telling me! Anyway she's up in my room resting for now. I suppose maybe you could go up there and have a word with her. She might feel more at ease talking with another girl."

Rukia took his cue and handed her wet rag to Ichigo who then moved to take over the cleaning duties.

* * *

><p>Shana stared around the unfamiliar room and sighed. In some ways it reminded her of Yuji's room back in Misaki city. God knows where she was now. She had wound up hopelessly lost and stuck under the care of a bunch of strangers.<p>

Her plan wasn't exactly going ahead at this point...

The shinigami she had been tailing had disappeared and that unsettling feeling about the clinic had dissipated as well. It was incredibly faint now, but the sensations had been coming from this room nonetheless.

If she stayed here while recuperating she could at least demystify the case of that unnatural presence she had felt before...

Whenever that was...

'Knock', 'knock'

"Excuse me, can I come in?"

It was a female voice. Shana uttered a croaking reply and the door swung open to reveal the short young woman who had attacked her downstairs. She was holding a glass of water in shaking hands, obviously pushing herself to be hospitable.

Shana rolled her eyes and remained silent as the girl sat down on the side of the bed. She had to twist her body awkwardly to face her guest and surely looked uncomfortable but she remained like that regardless.

"Here, drink up."

Shana did so, downing the entire glass in one choking gulp. She felt some of the water spilling down her chin and moved to wipe them but the other girl's hand had shot forward in the blink of an eye and wiped it away for her with the care of a mother. She even gave a warm sunlight smile, just like Wilhelmina would share when Shana was younger. It only brought back pangs of guilt and sadness for abandoning her and not leaving a message. The poor woman would be worried sick by now.

"So, your name is Shana? Well my name is Rukia. I hope we didn't get off on the wrong foot back there. You see you were in pretty bad shape and we didn't want you hurting yourself so we..." she trailed off and frowned.

"Thank you." Shana muttered, surprising herself.

After being momentarily put off, Rukia grinned just barely and let out a soft little burst of laughter. "Oh there's no need to thank us. We just did what was right! I mean we couldn't just leave you out there in your condition."

A silence passed between them while Rukia ran her gaze up and down Shana's body. She felt a little embarrassed and meekly tried to cover herself albeit already fully clothed and not revealing anything but dirt and dried blood.

"Hey, how about a bath? And I can wash your clothes for you as well."

"Ok..."

"Alright then, come with me." Rukia grabbed her hand and dragged her out into the hall. She moved down past the ludicrously girly room the boy had offered her before and towards a small door at the end of the upstairs landing.

Ichigo was coming up the stairs then and stared inquisitively.

Rukia's cheeks lit up for a moment as she wagged her finger, "No boys allowed!" and proceeded inside the bathroom with Shana close behind her.

Ichigo shrugged and went into his room to have a rest.

* * *

><p>Rukia let the water run while she took a wet hand towel to Shana's grimy face. With a bit of effort she managed to wipe a clean, snow-white streak across the girl's chin. She couldn't help but giggle, "Wow, who would have thought such a beautiful little princess was under all that dirt?"<p>

Shana took it the wrong way at first and seemed about ready to burst when at last she caught on that it was a joke. She didn't laugh, but a weak smile was enough.

It took some time to pry away the crusted set of clothes Shana had been wearing. Soaked through with blood and mud and sweat they weren't exactly comfortable and looked horrendous. Rukia set to work washing away all the mess, but while staring at Shana's naked body she noticed something disconcerting.

"There are no scars..." She mused aloud; letting out a yelp at the realisation she could hear herself.

"I heal fast." Shana explained. "I'm special, you know?"

Rukia paused, considering what to say next. After a forced giggle, "Yeah, I guess you are...You're a little princess aren't you? So where's your castle?"

"A long way away."

"Isn't it always? What about a prince charming then?"

Shana bowed her head, "His name is Yuji..."

"Is he handsome?" Rukia asked, teasing.

"He was." Shana whispered.

"Was?"

"Yeah..." Suddenly the warmth drained from Shana's body as she stared hard at her hands, "Before I killed him."

* * *

><p><span>Please review!<span>


	7. A Picture Painted in Ashes

..._**A Picture Painted In Ashes...**_

Silence filled the small bathroom in the Kurosaki clinic. Speechless, Rukia simply stared at the frail young girl before her, struggling to wrap her head around the horrible revelation uttered by the wounded child.

"Y-you...Killed him?"

Shana couldn't meet her gaze and looked down at her hands, the only one to truly see the blood spilled upon them.

"I killed Sakai Yuji...Even though I loved him...Even though he loved me..."

Rukia shook her head, hoping above all else that she had misheard, "That's not...You couldn't have-"

"I took the life of the one I truly loved...With these hands..." Tears clouded her large eyes and soon enough she was weeping like the child she resembled. Rukia hesitantly reached out to her, only to have her helping hands swatted aside.

Shana recoiled away from her and began to breathe unsteadily. As her pupils dilated to tiny pin pricks and her jaw began to quiver the young hunter's body trembled with terrifying force.

"Shana?" Rukia asked, only to be answered with silence.

_A panic attack? _

Rukia reached out again and placed her hands on the frightened girl's shoulders, only inciting shrill, blood-curdling screams. Ichigo's fists hammered against the door immediately and Rukia hastily attempted to calm Shana down, only to make her freak out more.

"Get away! Get away from him! You can't take him away from me! Get back you vile shinigami! I'll kill you! Kill you!"

The words echoed across the room, reverberating to pound against Rukia's skull again and again. Her eyes widened in shock and the terrified Soul Reaper backed up against the wall to avoid the younger girl's frantically flailing fists.

"Rukia, what the Hell is going on in there?!" Ichigo roared from outside, still bashing against the door.

As Shana's rage intensified she lunged at Rukia, hands locking around her throat and clenching with the force of an industrial vice. Rukia's cry of alarm was cut short into a strangled gasp as she was smashed against the tile wall and forced under the water. Shana continued screaming incoherently, no longer relying on words to enforce her sudden anger.

The door came crashing down with a climactic clatter as the fiery haired boy rushed through into the bathroom. There was no time to feel modest about the very fact that both girls were stark naked and so Ichigo felt nothing but urgency and desperation whilst pouncing on the rabid child.

"Hey! Get off of her! Let go dammit!" Ichigo's hands dwarfed Shana's and yet he struggled to pry them away from Rukia's throat. The poor shinigami was still submerged, her frightened screams bubbling up from the depths.

"Get back! Vile shinigami! Die! I won't let you have him!"

"Shana!"

"NO!"

Ichigo gave up on unlatching her fingers from Rukia's neck and resorted to a new tactic. Wrapping his arms around her he wrenched her body backwards with enough force that he himself had lost his balance and stumbled out of the room, still carrying Shana with him. She clawed away at the empty spaces around her and cried louder still. Her scrambling little body was hard to restrain and still wet from her bath she managed to slip away like an eel, landing in a defensive crouch beside him.

Ichigo prepared to fight back and bared his fists but Shana never made her move. Her pupils dilated and her shoulders slumped as if waking up from a terrible dream. With her frightening trance ceasing her body collapsed beneath her and the child crashed to the floor.

Silence descended upon the Kurosaki clinic once more.

* * *

><p>Ichigo paced around his room while Rukia sat on the edge of his bed, still rubbing her hand over her bruised neck. Shana had been restrained and left in the corner of the room. She had lost consciousness after her unusual episode and hadn't made any sign of recovering yet.<p>

"Shinigami..." Rukia muttered, "She was talking about shinigami. Do you think she knows about us?"

Ichigo shrugged, "I don't know. Is there any chance she might be one herself? Or maybe she's from Rukongai or something?"

"No, if she were from Soul Society I'd be able to sense it. I get a strange feeling from her, but it's definitely different from anything we've encountered before..."

"Perhaps another shinigami attacked her? She was freaking out about it so it must have been a traumatic experience."

"A shinigami robbed her of her final chance to say goodbye."

Ichigo and Rukia both glanced around the room in a daze, certain they had heard another voice within the room. A deep rumbling timbre like thunder filled the room as the mysterious voice returned.

"Excuse my rudeness. I am Alastor, the Flame of the Heavens."

The young shinigami still cast cautionary glances around themselves, only further disturbed by the undetectable presence.

"Ah...The pendant..."

"Pendant?" Ichigo snatched up the ornate necklace they had found with Shana. Indeed the voice seemed to resonate from within the deep red stone which would flicker differing shades with each syllable. Tiny embers danced about within the precious stone like a molten snow globe making the highly unusual pendant even more intriguing.

"It...It's talking!"

"Yes. To reiterate, I am Alastor, the Flame of the Heavens. My companion over there is Shana, the Flame-Haired, Burning-eyed Hunter."

"Are you...Shinigami?" Ichigo asked nervously, feeling slight embarrassment at having a conversation with a pendant.

"No, we are a different being entirely, though our mission is rather the same. Shana is a Flame Haze."

"Flame Haze?"

Alastor made a low grumbling sound, "In the same manner that your kind mystifies us, it seems you have never heard of our kind either. Yet the other shinigami was well aware of us. Hmm...I suppose our members have limited contact. I myself have never known of your presence."

"So...What is a Flame Haze?" Ichigo asked.

With a resigned sigh Alastor explained, "The Flame Haze are warriors tasked with defending the balance of the world. Our mission is to prevent extensive harm to humans by the Crimson Denizens."

Ichigo raised his hand like a school-boy. "I have another question..."

"Crimson Denizens are beings borne from the Crimson realm. They feed on the existence of others and thus devour humans. I myself am one of these beings, but I see to it that there is no wholesale slaughter of by my fellow Denizens. Shana is my comrade in this fight."

Rukia and Ichigo glanced at each other and frowned. "How come we have never heard of these Denizen things?"

"I cannot say, however shinigami govern the realms of death, leading the souls of the dead to the afterlife I presume. I can only imagine that due to Tomogara devouring the souls of their victims there would be no trace for you shinigami to detect and thus pay no heed."

The others nodded at Alastor's deduction though only further questions rose in their minds.

"Well, I have told you of the Flame Haze, it would seem only natural for you to tell me more about shinigami like yourselves." Alastor's voice took on a fatherly tone, as if scolding children.

Ichigo pinched the bridge of his nose and whispered to his companion, "Rukia...Get the drawing pad."

"Really?" she cried with delight, her eyes sparkling for reasons well beyond the Flame of Heaven's comprehension. Like an excited young child she scampered off in search of her drawing pad leaving Ichigo and Alastor to silently ponder their situation. Upon Rukia's return she showed off her vibrantly coloured sketches while Ichigo hung back, embarrassed for showing a drawing to a pendant which they weren't even sure could see. However Rukia's narration seemed to at least suffice and Alastor made deep humming noises at regular intervals to signal he understood.

"It's weird..." Ichigo muttered, "Our jobs are fairly similar and yet neither of us have ever crossed paths..."

"It is no longer important." Alastor cut him off without hesitation, "We now understand each other a little better and from the information you have so kindly supplied I believe you can be of use to us."

* * *

><p>A bustling street full of impatient citizens suddenly slowed to a crawl. The rushing businessmen froze mid-step, the sprinting students late for school stopped in their tracks. Everyone else halted in their daily actions as well.<p>

An entire street came to a stand-still, the air assuming a bloody red haze.

Fuzetsu, a sealed off world.

Three figures strolled through the statuesque scramble of citizens, eyeing them curiously. The figure at the head of the pack chuckled as he approached a group of schoolgirls. With a wave of his hand their bodies disintegrating, leaving behind only the flickering blue flames of their life force. The man opened out his palm and absorbed them all, a thin aura enveloping him as he did so.

"Do not devour too many of them. We don't want to arouse any suspicions so soon." the woman standing behind him scolded in a sickly sweet seductive voice. Despite warning her comrade she too indulged in devouring a selection of the humans trapped in her web. When she was satisfied she strolled calmly towards the others, a distinct clinking of metal serenading her march.

The smallest of the trio frowned at the other two and silently and obediently followed along. She needed not to eat her fill here, knowing full well that in time she would be granted a grand feast of human souls.

"This town is perfect. I can't believe we were so pre-occupied elsewhere to not recognise the potential here!"

"Hmm, indeed. This shall be a perfect place to lick our wounds and get back at those wretched Flame haze! Especially that little Flame-Haired brat! We shall make her pay for all she has done!"

"Now is not the time to strike. We must wait." the smallest explained matter-of-factly.

"Ah, you are right. You are always right." the tall man cooed, "That is why you are my precious-"

"Give it a rest would you."

The man shrugged his shoulders and laughed.

All the while the people around them vanished leaving not a single trace, a single shred of existence behind...

* * *

><p><span>Well I'm sorry for the delay in uploads, but at least I got this chapter out, even if it's a little later than expected. But here's hoping I can update a little more frequently from here on in. I hope you enjoyed the chapter, please review!<span>


	8. Smoulder

…_**Smoulder...**_

Ichigo and Rukia stared dumbfounded at the glowing amber pendant resting on the bedside table. Their jaws agape, each in turn shifted glances between Alastor and each other. His request was an unusual one to say the least.

"If what you have said about the nature of souls is correct, then Sakai Yuji must still reside within this Soul Society you speak of. If so, then for Shana's sake I beseech you to take us there so that we may find him."

"You...You want to go to Soul Society to find a friend?"

"To Shana, Sakai-kun was more than a mere companion. As much as it hurt me to see it, Shana relied on him as a confidante and in time of crisis, a crutch. He healed her in ways nobody else could. He was special in every sense of the word to Shana. Perhaps even more so than me"

Although the pendant showed no expression, Alastor's sullen tone proved irrefutable proof of the Flame of Heaven's concern for his young companion. Despite his bright and vibrant glow, his misery leaked from the precious stone like poison.

Rukia bowed her head in contemplation and returned to gaze at Alastor. Shana's grave confession earlier had burrowed deep through her consciousness to spread doubt. Unsure of whether to speak the words, she hesitantly murmured, "So...You want Shana to reunite with the boy she killed?"

There was a long pause, tension so thick it was tangible. A long sigh soon billowed out from the pendant.

"Precisely. Her guilt over such tragic circumstances has begun to consume her. She is still a child and such strain is certainly damaging. If Shana is to ever continue in her mission as a Flame Haze then she must attain a stable state of mind. In her current state she can barely function."

Rukia massaged the raw choke bruise left after Shana's most recent episode, understanding all too well the nature of the poor girl's condition.

"So you think meeting back up with Yuji will ease her conscience?"

"I can only hope. Of course it could also wound her further, but it is a risk I am willing to take."

Ichigo appeared sceptical, but Rukia stepped forward and bowed, "Very well. We shall take you to Soul Society, but we must make preparations first. It could take a few days."

The pendant glowed vibrantly, "I have all the time in the world Miss Kuchiki. But if we are to wait then I must make one last request."

"Let's hear it then." Ichigo groaned.

"Please...Watch over Shana. In her current position she could very well become a danger to herself and others. I can only lend her strength...I do not have the hands to hold her...That is why, I beg you...Protect her!"

After sharing a glance at one another, both Rukia and Ichigo nodded. "You have our word."

* * *

><p>Deep within the Research and Development Department a large monitor flickered into life, lights flashing and alarms blaring. A man with golden eyes and painted skin studied the monitor intently, his skeletal fingers dancing on the keyboard with fervour. A permanently affixed grin resulting from a lack of lips allowed his ghostly white teeth to shine in the otherwise dank and gloomy darkness of the room. His wide staring eyes rolled mechanically across the screen, pupils dilating and expanding in maniacal delight.<p>

As Soul Society's head research specialist, Captain Mayuri Kurotsuchi was renowned for his genius. Nothing escaped his unblinking hawk-like gaze. Whether in the world of the Living or that of the dead, Mayuri's equipment recorded any and all activities within his domain. The ever-present supervision of a god.

And yet a look of surprise scrawled across his unsightly face.

Without warning, souls were disappearing. People were vanishing like candles blown out, leaving no trace of their existence. In the advent of death, a soul's power of existence usually remains, such that it is sent to the Soul Society. And yet hordes of citizens were simply vanishing off the face of the earth, soul and all.

"Hmm, this is quite an unusual find." The nefarious scientist's throat rattled in a rusted, creaking timbre. "It seems Karakura is always a town of wonders..."

His laughter echoed throughout the large empty laboratories cascading down upon the few workers nestled within their dark corners of the facility.

They knew from experience that whenever Captain Kurotsuchi laughed, something terrible was bound to happen...

* * *

><p>The night had passed without any incidents like the previous day. Shana had been unconscious for several hours after her unexplained episode in the bath and awoke more exhausted than before. Ichigo was cooking for quite some time until the girl seemed replenished and by then he himself was exhausted. She had a restless sleep, constantly under the watchful eyes of the two shinigami, but at the very least she stayed asleep, even as the cold sweat and tears borne of the worst nightmares assaulted her fragile mind.<p>

By morning, she was gently shaken awake by the young girl, Yuzu.

"Good morning." she said cheerfully, offering a beaming smile, though Shana could tell the girl was nervous. "I cooked a lot for breakfast since Ichigo told me how hungry you were. It's ready and waiting down-stairs."

Shana nodded but made no attempt to move. The girl studied her curiously and frowned, "Are you not hungry?"

Shana shook her head. "I'm hungry. But I don't want to go downstairs."

"Why?" Yuzu inquired.

Shana didn't answer, merely sitting there staring at her until the awkwardness became too much and Yuzu got up and left. After a brief respite Yuzu returned, knocking on the door to the bedroom even though it was already open. This time Ichigo was standing beside her.

"Hey, you should eat something. Besides, Yuzu's cooking is amazing! Much better than mine!"

Shana nodded but still didn't move.

"Come on! It will get cold if you don't come and get it."

"Bring it to me." Shana said coldly.

"What? No, you can just come downstairs and-"

"Bring it to me!" It seemed she was in the mood for a tantrum again.

Ichigo moved to argue the issue further but Yuzu clutched his sleeve and led him away. After another short moment of quietude she returned a third time with a tray in her hands. She set it down by the door and bowed before walking away.

Shana waited to make sure no-one else was coming before crawling over and devouring the offerings they had prepared for her. She could hear the chatter of the family down-stairs, even picking up on her name a few times in their conversations.

"Alastor...Who are these people?"

"For now, they are allies. I have spoken with the two shinigami and they have vowed to offer their assistance in finding Sakai Yuji. I think you should be more hospitable towards them in return for their efforts."

"But they're shinigami!" Shana snapped. "They were the ones who took him away in the first place! Why would they help us?"

Alastor sighed. "These two are unaffiliated with the one who took Sakai Yuji. Having spoken with them I feel we should trust them. They are our only hope of reaching this Soul Society and furthermore, even if we found our own way there, without someone to guide us we would simply be lost."

"Trusting the enemy? Isn't this too risky?"

"They are not the enemy, Shana. The shinigami serve as vital a part in maintaining the balance of the worlds as we do. Our agents rarely meet due to our differing circumstances, thus causing their suspicion, but they are in no means a threat. As long as we treat them with respect they shall not think of us as a danger to their organisation."

"So...Shinigami are like Flame Haze?"

Alastor recalled Rukia's not so eloquently drawn pictures from the day before. "In some respects we are similar, but of course they are far different from us as well."

Shana scowled, "Well are they similar or not?"

"It's difficult to explain." Alastor grumbled. "But it is best to trust them for now."

Shana rolled her eyes before finishing the last of the breakfast Yuzu had brought up. "Very well. I'll play along for now. They will come in handy later won't they Alastor?"

"Hmm..."

* * *

><p>"School?" Shana asked quietly.<p>

"Yeah," Ichigo replied awkwardly, scratching his head, "you see we've agreed with Alastor to help you out, but we need a few days to prepare. So in the meantime we think it'd be best if you accompany us to school."

"You promise to help me?" her gaze intensified.

"I already said that. Of course we will! If your friend is in Soul Society then it's our job to find him for you!"

Shana glanced down at her feet for a moment before shooting her head back up, startling the young shinigami, "How many days?"

"What?"

"How many days?" she stressed.

"Uh...A week at the most."

Shana made an irritated face, but even as she crossed her arms and turned away, she reluctantly agreed.

"Fine. I'll go to school."

"I have a spare uniform you can use." Rukia explained, holding up the steel grey skirt and blazer. Shana and Rukia were almost the same size, Rukia being just slightly taller, though their age difference was strangely apparent. Nonetheless the uniform would be the perfect size for their reluctant charge.

Shana studied the uniform with an almost resentful gaze but took it regardless, bowing in thanks. As much as she despised shinigami, these two appeared to be at least a little bit tolerable. Shana resigned herself to comply with their request and went to get ready for school.

As expected the uniform was a near perfect fit. Shana studied her reflection in the bathroom mirror as she tied the bow beneath her collar. The vibrant blood red was a stark contrast to the drab grey of the rest of the outfit. Shana preferred her old uniform for Masaki high, but since Alastor and Ichigo stressed this would only be temporary she decided to put up with it.

Upon leaving the bathroom she found Rukia standing outside with an expectant glance. She cried out in delight upon seeing her and lunged at her. Shana prepared to fight back but held back at the last second when Rukia wrapped her arms around her in a hug.

This was going to take getting used to, Shana thought with a frown.

"Aw, you're so cute!"

Shana whimpered like a frightened pup but it only made Rukia's strangely affectionate behaviour worse. In vain she reached out to Ichigo who shrugged his shoulders and sighed.

"She gets this way around cute things."

Shana scoffed and tried to push away her assailant, but Rukia's grip was unusually strong, sparing no energy to keep her locked in her embrace. When it seemed she wouldn't have mercy on the startled Flame Haze Ichigo finally intervened and dragged her by the back of her shirt away from the panting and sputtering young girl.

"Are you alright?" Alastor asked, noting Shana's pounding heart and laboured breaths.

The Flame-haired Burning-eyed hunter observed the odd couple and frowned.

"Shinigami are certainly strange beings..."


	9. School Blaze

..._**School Blaze...**_

Shana had been to many schools in her time fighting the Tomogara. It often helped to pose as a student while investigating the area so she often found herself going undercover. However this one instance felt different from all the others. This was simply a formality. There was no investigation, just something to wile away the days until she would be able to proceed with her mission.

Shana felt a shudder run up through her spine. She froze in place outside the school gates, garnering curious stares from her two companions, the shinigami.

"Hmm? Something wrong?" Ichigo asked his face barely betraying any concern at all beneath a scowling mask which seemed to be stuck on his face.

Shana glared at him in silence for a few seconds before storming past him onto the grounds of her new school. Rukia hurried after her and grabbed her shoulders to stop her from running off. Angered at her restraints, Shana grumbled a curse and wrestled free.

"Let me go!" she snapped. When she was free she adjusted her uniform and straightened her sleeves out until they were perfectly smooth. Unfortunately her face was scrunched up in a snarl. "I don't need you to hold my hand wherever I go!"

"I know," Rukia stated in the tone of a mother, or so Shana assumed, since she had no recollection of her own family. She smiled gently and offered her hand regardless, radiating an angelic aura, "But since we're friends, shouldn't we stick together?"

Her eyes widened at that and unable to hide her surprise at the statement Shana's cheeks burned brighter than flame. "W-who said we were friends?!" she barked. "You are nothing but tools to me! Don't overlook your place, shinigami!"

Rukia laughed at her insults and patted the flaring young girl on the head, messing up her beautiful straight black hair. "Now, now, I told you not to call me that outside of the house. Call me Rukia."

"Shut up! I remembered!"

"Well actually-" Ichigo interjected.

"Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!"

"Whoa, what's going on here? Are you starting trouble again Ichigo?" a powerful voice carried from behind a crowd of girls marching through the gate. From their ranks an athletic looking girl burst forward and jogged up to the scene of the disturbance. Her hair was short and spiked, almost like a boy's, but even with her rugged features she exuberated a softer feminine side. Her pale thin lips curved up into a smile at the sight of the furious little Flame Haze.

Shana's anger smouldered into the void upon seeing the girl, replaced by a confused stare. "Rebecca? What are you doing here?"

Silence descended upon the group. The familiar looking girl tilted her head and crossed her arms. "Huh? Rebecca? You've got the wrong person..."

"Wha-?"

"This is Tatsuki Arisawa; she's an old friend of mine. She's also in our class." Ichigo explained.

Shana eyed her up and down in fascination, absorbed in the remarkable resemblance to Wilhelmina's strong-armed companion. After deducing that she certainly wasn't Rebecca, Shana bowed her head and apologised.

"Hey, don't apologise! It's totally alright!" exclaimed the girl known as Tatsuki. After laughing in a short burst she leaned forward and studied the smaller girl with an intense, probing gaze. "You're a transfer student or something, right?"

"Yes." Shana replied with military-level alertness.

"Ha ha ha, calm down. I'm not some common street punk like Ichigo over there. And if you're a friend of these guys, then you're a friend of mine!"

"Ah...Ok..." Shana averted her gaze, embarrassed.

"Well, class is almost starting so we should get moving." Rukia insisted, pushing the group along hastily.

* * *

><p>"Okay quiet down everybody!" Miss Oichi yelled from her ageing wooden lectern at the front of the classroom. The rowdy class scaled back the volume to some extent but they were certainly far from quiet. She repeated herself once more, slamming her papers down as well, creating a raucous thunderclap which silenced every single student at once.<p>

"That's better! Now, everyone, we have a new student here today and I want you to be extra nice to her okay?"

The class gave way to curious whispers about the possibilities of their new classmate. All were momentarily awed as she trudged in. Her long black hair shone in the early morning sunshine spilling through the open windows and her cool brown eyes regarded her classmates warily, glancing upon them like a hunter finding prey.

"Alright, how about you introduce yourself?" Miss Oichi suggested after the student had failed to take the initiative to do it herself upon entry.

"My name is Shana. I just moved here from Masaki City. My hobbies include you leaving me alone and minding your own business."

The whispers resumed. Shana craned her neck to look expectantly at her teacher who nervously waved a hand towards an empty desk near the back of the room. Silently, Shana drifted over and sat down while her stunned classmates watched on.

"That was a grand introduction." Ichigo said with a smirk, "Were you this kind to your friends at Masaki City as well?"

"Shut up!" she hissed, earning the watchful eyes of everyone around her, at least until she hissed at each of them in turn.

In seconds Shana had isolated herself and attracted the fear of all her classmates. But it did not matter; she would only be there for a few days...

Class went by without much incident. Most of the students had been subdued by Shana's callous introduction and cold demeanour in class. Even those who were still whispering about her during class were cautious as ever to ensure she did not catch them looking her way. Like she had done so in many of her former schools, Shana made a point to emasculate and humiliate her teachers, only raising more suspicions among the class.

After the third teacher left the room sobbing like a child the rumours had already begun to spread about the possible origin of her cold-blooded nature.

Shana could not care less what they said about her. In a matter of days she would be gone and no longer would she have to set foot in this strange little town. Whether they liked or loathed her made no difference.

They would soon be distant memories lost in the wind...

* * *

><p>As soon as the bell for lunch tolled Shana burst out of the classroom and rushed to the roof. Unfortunately for her, she was not the only one who had chosen the roof as their escape from the others.<p>

A giant of a man sat against a railing not far from the door, startling Shana with his otherwise imperceptible presence. Silently he glanced up at her, his hand shooting up in a passive wave. Shana simply stared back at him.

"Hello." he muttered in a deep brooding timbre.

"H-Hello..."

"You are Shana, the transfer student, right?"

"Yes."

The giant looked down at his shoes for a moment before looking back up at her from behind his tangled mop of brown locks, "That was some introduction back there." That was the second time Shana had heard that today and the coincidence seemed to strike a nerve.

Crossing her arms she crossed over to the opposite railing and groaned, "If you remember my speech so well, then you should do well to follow my instructions. Leave me alone!"

Out of curiosity she peered over to the giant who had not moved a muscle since she last spoke. He seemed perfectly comfortable sitting there, even if she was cursing him. Something of a thin smile crossed his darker features and the slightest trace of a chuckle escaped him.

"You really are Ichigo's friend."

"Huh?! What makes you think I'm friends with that...That...Idiot!" she snapped defensively.

His massive shoulders shrugged and his head bowed, "I saw you walking to school with him this morning. You looked like you were getting along pretty well."

"Ha! As if! That moron just won't leave me alone!"

"You know a petite little girl like you shouldn't act so nasty towards others."

Shana scowled. "Who are you calling a 'little girl?!' How dare you-"

"Aha! I thought she'd be up here!" Ichigo's voice drifted over from the open door. He crossed between the feuding students and sat down between. Several other students followed suit sitting in a circle in the centre of the roof. Shana remained standing a short way away, uninterested in joining Ichigo's group.

"Sorry for leaving you to babysit her Chad, I should have warned you."

"Hey!" she cried from outside their group.

"Don't worry about it," Chad shrugged his massive shoulders, "It was actually kind of fun."

Shana was on the verge of an outburst when she was beaten to the punch by the orange haired shinigami.

"Wha-?! Are you kidding me? If you ask me she's just a little brat!"

Once again before she could retort, Rukia scolded him for his words leaving the irate young flame haze silently fuming in the background, entirely unnoticed by the others as if they had not even registered her existence when they stepped out onto the roof to have lunch.

"You can't blame her for being defensive. She's a long way from home and surrounded by strangers. Wouldn't you be a little bit hesitant if you were in her shoes?"

Rukia's question brought a sombre silence to the group; however Ichigo's scowl remained unmarred. Scoffing at her words he shot a quick glance back at the girl in question and then addressed his shinigami friend.

"I don't think I'd go about making the entire town my enemy if I were in her shoes. I may not be the smartest but even I know that's a stupid thing to do!"

The entire group burst out laughing, some even rolling onto their sides. Even the statuesque giant was chuckling, his large frame quivering in restrained mirth.

"What's going on? Why are you laughing? Stop it!" Shana barked, clenching her small pale fists.

Tatsuki turned to her and snatched her wrist, dragging her down into their circle. She wiped tears from her eyes and fought to contain her laughter to a point where she could catch her breath and speak. It took some time to reach that stage and in all that time Shana remained enraged and confused for reasons she did not fully understand.

"Shana, I'll tell you a story. It's about a boy who was a complete wimp as a boy. A boy who cried like a baby and got his ass kicked by me on a weekly basis. That little sheep eventually grew up into an angry little punk who got into all sorts of trouble in the neighbourhood. He became infamous at his school for getting himself into fights and constantly causing trouble; So much so that he was already feared when he entered high school. He started the year alone because no-one dared to go near him and feared he would bite their head off just for saying hello. He creeped most of the kids out and only ever got approached by the delinquents who wanted to beat him up. For a while this went on until one day he grew up and realised his stubbornness was hurting everyone around him. From then on he rounded up our little circus and became...Well...less of a punk I guess..."

Ichigo shot her a glare prompting Tatsuki to howl with laughter. "Can you guess who that boy is?"

"Ichigo?" Shana asked uncertainly.

"Bingo! He did a good job making the entire town his enemy when he was younger, but I think he took too many blows to the head so he forgot about it! Ha ha ha!"

The others laughed while Ichigo folded his arms and frowned. "Very funny guys, but that was all in the past!"

"It still happened Ichigo!"

"Grr, you're missing the point!"

"What? Shana can do whatever she likes! You're not her mother!"

"Yeah!" Shana added, sticking out her tongue.

"Besides, she's got some good friends to watch her back, even if the entire world turns against her!" Tatsuki placed her hand over her heart and puffed her chest out with pride. "Isn't that right guys?"

Bar Ichigo, the group all nodded and for the first time looked at Shana with kind smiles. Suddenly she was inundated with introductions and hands offered to shake. Unable to bear their overwhelming attention the little flame haze shied away and retreated out of their circle once again.

After calming them down, Rukia and Tatsuki coaxed Shana back and made sure to keep her still.

"Hi, I'm Mizuiro, Nice to meet you." exclaimed a thin young man with slick black hair. His expression seemed distant, but there was a genuine air of calm about him. The boy sitting next to him however exuded the exact opposite aura.

"Hey there! I'm Keigo Asano, and before you ask, no I'm not taken! Ha ha ha! If you ever need anything you can count on me! If you're ever feeling lonely just call on me and I'll-"

A fist slammed into Keigo's cheek and sent him rolling into the fence opposite.

"Leave you alone." finished Tatsuki. "Never mind him. He's a moron, even more than Ichigo if you can believe it."

"Hey!" the two indignant youths cried in unison.

"Welcome to our gang of oddballs..." Rukia muttered while struggling to keep a straight face.

Shana stared at them in stunned awe, mouth agape and wide.

_Just a few more days..._


	10. Heating Up

**...Heating Up**_**...**_

The girl let out a shrill scream. She sprinted down the street and ducked into a narrow alley. She had to stop to catch her breath, casting a cautious glance about the place. The faint glimmer of hope shattered like glass as the shadows surrounding the girl congealed into the cavernous, slavering jaws of a beast.

She screamed again, but her cries fell on deaf ears as the beast stalked its prey. Cowering before the creature, tears streamed from her eyes. The trembling lamb crawled away, but the beast trailed behind her, closing the gap with each long stride.

She collapsed and let loose a pitiful wail, knowing that her struggle would end here; in darkness without another soul to comfort her.

The girl raised her head and stared into the abyss.

The deep rumbling growl shook her very bones. She closed her eyes and waited for the pain, but no pain ever came. Slowly she opened her eyes and glimpsed a tall figure standing between her and the monster.

"Interesting..." The man muttered, stroking his chin. "These creatures...They are not denizens...What are they?"

The girl wished to warn him of the dangers he faced, but her voice had failed her. The man stood motionless as the demon lunged forward with a ground-shaking roar. Then, suddenly the beast was thrown back as if it had hit a brick wall. A length of metal stretched out from the man's tightly clenched fist. A wicked blade rested atop the pole, slick with dark blood.

"Hmm, they definitely do not recognise us. They cannot be from the Crimson Realm...Oh well. If they wish to stand against me and threaten these innocent souls, I will simply have to destroy them."

The man walked forward casually, one hand in his pocket while the other twirled the hefty halberd like a baton. He chuckled as the beast rushed in for another strike. In the blink of an eye the beast was in pieces, its foul blood splattering the walls of the alley with a wet slap.

The girl stammered as the one who saved her turned around and approached. His blood-stained smile was unsettling but...He had saved her.

She extended her hand uncertainly and he clasped it softly within his own with a delicacy belying the most violent display from before. She could not see his eyes, veiled behind thick sunglasses, but the distinct curve of his thin lips suggested a warm smile.

"It's ok. The monster is gone. He can't hurt you anymore."

The girl couldn't resist. She hugged him and sobbed into his chest.

"Thank you sir! Thank you so much! How can I ever repay you?"

He laughed.

"You don't have to do anything my dear!" His grip suddenly tightened and the girl winced. She felt his nails dig into her flesh. "You needn't do anything. Now sleep!"

She couldn't scream. She could not see, or hear. All five senses went blank in an instant. All became nothing.

The man cradled the glowing ball of light and absorbed it into himself. With a devilish grin he glanced up at the moon and licked his lips.

"I love this city!"

* * *

><p>Shana stopped dead in her tracks, eyes widening in surprise.<p>

Ichigo and Rukia had ducked down a side street without warning, leaving her to stumble along the main road alone. She quickly backtracked and raced after them.

"Hey! Where are you going?"

Ichigo sighed and scratched his head, "We're visiting a...Well I guess you could call him a 'friend'."

"Why did you say it like that?" the Flame haze pouted.

"You'll find out when you meet him."

"Huh? Why do I have to-?"

"You want to get into Soul Society to find your friend right?" Ichigo cut in, "Well he's the guy to ask about it."

She fell silent after that, somewhat subdued from the knowledge that she was getting closer and closer to finding Yuji. A thin smile crossed her features but she quickly forced a scowl lest the shinigami catch sight of it.

They passed on through the narrow street and followed along a tapering alleyway into an abandoned lot on the fringe of the town. A large building stood off against the comparably drab backdrop, a great wooden structure that seemed to impose upon everything around it. A hand-painted sign above the veranda read: 'Urahara Shoten'.

Shana stared at the odd shop with a frown.

"Why is there a shop all the way out here? Do people even come here?"

Ichigo smirked, an expression she had already grown to dislike. She didn't like his scowl either but every time he smirked she foresaw irritation in the not too distant future.

"This isn't the kind of shop ordinary people go to."

With that the two shinigami wandered casually inside the store. Shana trailed along a few paces behind, cautiously eyeing her surroundings. Once inside her eyes were glued to the rows of candy lined along the aisles.

"Candy?"

"It's a disguise. If anyone accidentally wanders in here they can buy some candy, but the real business is done in the back rooms. Be careful."

Ichigo's warning made her shudder and Shana became far more on edge as she crept further inside the shop. Even after heading behind the main store area and into the living quarters not a single person had approached them. The store was empty bar the three young intruders.

Without realising it, Shana had been tugging on Ichigo's sleeve since they entered. With a yelp she pried her hands away and tucked them behind her back, cheeks blushing as bright as her burning eyes. Blurred memories of Yuji flooded back and her blushing only intensified.

Ichigo stopped at the end of the hall and glanced back over his shoulder. "Hmm? Something wrong?"

"Ah! N-No! What are you talking about?! Just find this 'friend' of yours already!"

Rukia giggled at their trade-off and led them through to a large open room where a slumped figure sat cross-legged at a low table. He looked up at them from behind the brim of his oddly striped hat and the faintest trace of a smile lit up his face.

"Ichigo, Rukia, welcome!" He waved with a paper fan and revealed a blinding grin. His eyes sparkled with intrigue as they settled upon the Flame Haze. "Oh, we have a guest? Might I ask your name, princess?"

Shana's cheeks turned from red to green. "Princess?!"

The man chuckled and feigned surprise, "Hmm? Your name is Princess? What a beautiful name-"

"My name is Shana!" she snapped defensively, crossing her arms, "And don't call me Princess!"

He sighed, shoulders slumping in defeat, "If that is what you prefer, sweetheart."

"Shut up!"

"What's wrong darling?"

"Raaaagh!" Shana charged at him. She made it as far as a metre away when she was flung back by some invisible force. She tumbled across the floor and hit the wall with a thud. Dazed, she stared at the laughing man who had not moved from his seat on the tatami.

"Quite the spirited one, aren't you? Well, if these two goons brought you here then I suppose it would be fair to assume you want something other than some sweets?"

Shana snarled.

Rolling her eyes Rukia stepped forward. "This is Shana. She's not like us. Have you ever heard of Flame Haze?"

The man's eyes narrowed. He let out a low whistle, "Well that's a name you don't hear every day. It's been a long time since I've heard them mentioned at all. I thought they were just a myth. But now that you mention it, I got a funny feeling from her the second she entered my store..."

"That's called contempt." Ichigo dead-panned.

No-one laughed.

"What is a Flame haze doing here then?" he asked bringing the fan to his face, "Surely it must not be good news?"

All expressions turned grave.

* * *

><p>Once again, Mayuri Kurotsuchi stared at the monitors in morbid excitement. More souls were disappearing; in fact even the hollows were being wiped clean off the face of the earth. However more human souls were vanishing which disproved the first theory that had come to his mind. Whatever the cause, it certainly wasn't anything he had experienced in his time as captain.<p>

Over the last 48 hours the strange phenomenon had commenced. The incidents first occurred on the outermost areas of the town and had progressively grown closer to the heart of Karakura. Whatever the perpetrator may be, it certainly didn't live in the town, it had wandered in from the outside.

Mayuri tapped away at the keyboard and summoned endless walls of data. No mere mortal could have processed the information as it flashed across the screen at impossible speeds, but the nefarious captain had the eyes of a hawk and a mind as sharp as the sword forever carried at his side. Nothing escaped him, and the perpetrator of these crimes wasn't an exception.

The information made little sense. The disappearances had been occurring so close to the shinigami agents stationed in Karakura and yet no reports had arrived. Were they simply not noticing? Or are they letting it happen?

This matter would require investigation.

Mayuri rose from his seat and wandered into the main chamber of the research and development department. He glared at the other workers and singled out one standing idly by the door, staring intensely at nothing at all.

"Nemu." the captain snarled. The girl turned to him, but her stare remained as vacant as ever. Mayuri handed a ruffled pile of paper to her which she accepted with a grateful bow. "Give these to the Captain Commander. And have him issue forth a team to investigate the World of the Living. Understood?"

"Yes sir." she replied meekly. Without another word she hurried off into the fading light of day.

The strange captain glanced up at the bleeding stain in the sky and his grin grew wider. Whatever specimen had committed these crimes, they would surely be a valuable research subject. The very thought of dissecting such a mysterious creature sent tingles along Mayuri's spine.


End file.
